CN1301562C

CN1301562C - Fuel reaction control device of fuel cell system and its fuel reaction control method

Info

Publication number: CN1301562C
Application number: CNB2004100046425A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 詹景棠; 管洐德; 许锡铭
Original assignee: ANTIG TECHNOLOGY Inc
Current assignee: British Cayman Islands Shengguang Technology Co Ltd
Priority date: 2004-02-20
Filing date: 2004-02-20
Publication date: 2007-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2024-02-20
Also published as: CN1658424A

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fuel reaction control device for a fuel battery system, which comprises an outer layer switch mechanism, a fuel battery system and further an isolating layer, wherein the outer layer switch mechanism is used for controlling whether outer air can circulate to the fuel battery system or not; the fuel battery system is clamped between the isolating layer and the outer layer switch mechanism and comprises a switching ring and a fuel supplement device; the isolating layer is used for isolating heat produced by the fuel battery system in electrochemical reaction and isolating steam produced by the fuel battery system in the electrochemical reaction. When a fuel supplement device is plugged in the switching ring, the outer layer switch mechanism is opened; when the fuel supplement device is pulled out of the switching ring, the outer layer switch mechanism is closed.

Description

Fuel reaction control device for fuel cell system and fuel reaction control method thereof

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a fuel cell and a control method thereof, and more particularly, to a fuel reaction control apparatus of a fuel cell system for controlling whether external air is introduced into the fuel cell system, and a fuel reaction control method of the fuel cell system.

Background

Fuel cells are devices that convert chemical energy directly into low voltage direct current electrical energy through electrochemical reactions. Fuel cells are constructed from a catalyst-containing anode, a cathode, and an ionically conductive electrolyte. In the case of a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell, when the anode and the cathode are connected to a load, hydrogen is oxidized at the anode, oxygen is reduced at the cathode, and electrons flow from the anode to the cathode through the load to form an electric circuit, thereby generating electric energy to drive the load to work. The difference between the fuel cell and the general dry cell is that the cell will work continuously to provide electric energy as long as the fuel supply is maintained, and the final product of the cell reaction is onlylimited by water, thus causing no pollution to the environment. Fuel cells have various structures, which can be distinguished by materials, composition forms, and sizes, and they provide protons of oxygen and hydrogen in the air by chemical reactions. The standard DMFC described below uses an aqueous methanol solution as fuel to form the anode side, while the cathode side forces oxygen from the air into the center of the DMFC, which can be separated by a proton conducting membrane of Nafion material or Polymer Electrolyte Membrane (PEM) through which protons can pass. The core part is formed by separating electrodes (cathode and anode) from each other by electrolyte, and the electrolyte can be ion conductive liquid, acid, alkali liquor, ceramic or membrane. These materials prevent the direct chemical reaction of the electrodes (anode and cathode), the membrane has a barrier effect on molecules and electrons, and protons can pass through, so that the fuel cell is constantly replenished from the electrodes, which is very suitable for micro and miniature devices.

The anode reaction of the fuel cell generates free electrons and protons from hydrogen molecules. The electrolyte serves a catalytic function therein. The cathode consumes free electrons, which are generated by the anode in order to undergo an electrochemical reaction, and must flow from the anode to the cathode by a peripheral current. At this time, the electrons combine with protons coming through the membrane and the input oxygen to form water molecules. Most fuel cells take oxygen from the air and the heat of reaction and residual gases, i.e. moisture, are continuously removed by fans. So-called stack effect can be produced by several cells depending on the power demand, which of course can be connected in series for higher voltage or in parallel for higher current.

Taking a direct methanol fuel cell system as an example, it needs to be supplemented with methanol fuel for the direct methanol fuel cell system to perform the electrochemical reaction. When the methanol fuel is supplemented or exhausted, the direct methanol fuel cell system stops the electrochemical reaction so as to supplement the methanol fuel, and when the methanol fuel is supplemented, the direct methanol fuel cell system carries out the electrochemical reaction. The stopping or performing of the electrochemical reaction in the prior art requires the user to perform related operations, which increases the inconvenience for the user, so that there are many disadvantages and needs to be improved in the conventional fuel cell system.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a fuel reaction control device of a fuel cell system, which is capable of stopping or performing operations related to electrochemical reactions according to user's needs, so as to increase the convenience of using the fuel cell system.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fuel reaction control method for a fuel cell system, such that the fuel reaction control device implemented according to the method of the present invention can automatically perform operations related to stopping or performing an electrochemical reaction, so as to increase the convenience of using the fuel cell system.

According to the above object of the present invention, the present invention provides a fuel reaction control device of a fuel cell system, comprising: a fuel cell system sandwiched between an isolation layer and an outer layer switch mechanism, comprising a transfer ring and a fuel supply device; the outer layer switch mechanism is used for controlling whether external air can be circulated to the fuel cell system; and further comprises the isolation layer for isolating the heat generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction from transferring to the display panel of the notebook computer, and for isolating the water vapor generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction from escaping to the display panel of the notebook computer; when the fuel supplementing device is inserted into the adapter ring, the outer layer switch mechanism is in an on state, and when the fuel supplementing device is pulled out of the adapter ring, the outer layer switch mechanism is in an off state.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a fuel reaction control method of a fuel cell system, comprising: providing a fuel cell system sandwiched between an isolation layer and an outer layer switching mechanism, comprising a transfer ring and a fuel supply device; providing an outer layer switch mechanism for controlling whether the outside air can be circulated to the fuel cell system; and when the fuel supplementing device is inserted in the adapter ring, the outer layer switch mechanism is controlled to be in an on state, and when the fuel supplementing device is pulled out of the adapter ring, the outer layer switch mechanism is controlled to be in an off state. Still further, the method comprises: providing an isolation layer for isolating heat generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction and for isolating water vapor generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction;

the invention has the advantages of novel design, industrial utilization and enhanced efficacy

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows an exploded structural view of a fuel reaction control apparatus of a fuel cell system of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a fuel reaction control method of the fuel cell system of the present invention.

Fig. 3A to 3B are schematic views showing the operation of the fuel reaction control device of the fuel cell system of the present invention.

Fig. 4A to 4B are schematic views showing the operation of the outer layer switch mechanism in the off/on state.

In the drawings

100 fuel reaction control device

110 barrier layer

120 fuel cell system

120 direct methanol fuel cell system

121 fuel cell/runner component

122 membrane battery

123 adapter ring

124 fuel supply device

125 drive assembly

126 front end

130 outer layer switch mechanism

130 louver structure

131 blade

132 front end

Detailed Description

Fig. 1 shows an exploded structural view of a fuel reaction control apparatus of a fuel cell system of the present invention. The fuel reaction control device 100 may be used in an electronic product, for example, the fuel reaction control device 100 is disposed in a display panel of a notebook computer. The fuel reaction control device 100 mainly includes an isolation layer 110, a fuel cell system 120, and an outer layer switch mechanism 130. The fuel cell system 120 is sandwiched between the isolation layer 110 and the outer layer switch mechanism 130 to provide the electric power required by the electronic product, and the main components of the fuel cell system 120 include a fuel tank/flow channel member 121, a membrane battery 122, a transfer ring 123, a fuel supply device 124, a transmission assembly 125 and a front end 126.

Taking a direct methanol fuel cell system as an example of the fuel cell system 120, the fuel tank/flow path member 121 mainly functions to contain methanol fuel and provide a channel for the methanol fuel and the reactant gas. An adapter ring 123 is disposed on the upper end of the fuel tank/flow path member 121 to engage the fuel supply 124. The membrane stack 122 is a core component of the direct methanol fuel cell system 120, mainly where electrochemical reactions are performed.

One side of the isolation layer 110 is in contact with the internal structure of the electronic product, for example, the display panel of a notebook computer, and the other side of the isolation layer 110 is in contact with the direct methanol fuel cell system 120. The first function of the isolation layer 110 is to isolate the heat generated by the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 in the electrochemical reaction, so as to prevent the generated heat from being transferred to the electronic product, thereby ensuring the electronic product to be able to operate normally. The second function of the isolation layer 110 is to isolate the water vapor generated by the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 in the electrochemical reaction, so as to prevent the water vapor from escaping to the electronic product. In order to reliably isolate the water vapor from the dmfc system 120 to the electronic product, the isolation layer 110 is preferably made of polystyrene plastic, composite material, or other material capable of effectively isolating the water from the heat.

The outer layer switch mechanism 130 has a main function of controlling the outside air to control whether it can flow to the direct methanol fuel cell system 120, except for protecting and isolating the directmethanol fuel cell system 120 from touch. The anode reaction of the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 is as follows:

the cathode reaction is as follows:

the overall reaction is as follows:

from the above equation, it can be seen that if the oxygen supply is interrupted, the electrochemical reaction of the dmfc system 120 cannot proceed, so the present invention provides the outer layer switch mechanism 130 on the outer layer of the cathode of the dmfc system 120, and the outer layer switch mechanism 130 is implemented by, for example, the louver-like structure 130. When the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 needs to react, the plurality of blades 131 of the louver are opened to make the cathode of the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 fully supplemented with the oxygen in the air, and when the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 does not need to react, the blades 131 of the louver are closed to isolate the cathode of the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 from the outside air. In the blind embodied in the outer opening and closing mechanism 130 of the present invention, the opening angle of the slats 131 can be selected as needed, for example, between 0 degrees and 90 degrees, or 0 degrees when fully closed, or 90 degrees when fully open. If it is considered that the external air supply rate may be insufficient in case of fully opening the blades 131, the louver structure 130 is further provided with at least one intake fan, such as an electric fan or a blower, etc., for accelerating the circulation of the external air to the dmfc system 120.

The fuel supply device 124 is used for storing and supplying the methanol fuel to provide the fuel required by the direct methanol fuel cell system 120. The fuel supply device 124 may be cylindrical, rectangular, or polygonal, and the material may be plastic, polymer, or a material that does not react with methanol fuel. Furthermore, the fuel supply 124 has a front end 126, which is used to engage the adapter ring 123. The adapter ring 123 is disposed on the upper end of the fuel tank/flow path member 121 and has a transmission assembly 125 such that when the fuel replenishing device 124 is inserted on the adapter ring 123, the transmission assembly 125 opens the outer layer switching mechanism 130.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart of a fuel reaction control method of the fuel cell system of the present invention. First, in step S210, the cathode of the fuel cell system 120 is covered by the outer layer switching mechanism 130, and is isolated from the outside air. In step S220, the fuel replenishing device 124 is inserted into the adapter ring 123 of the fuel tank/flow path member 121, and the front end 126 thereof pushes the driving assembly 125. In step S230, the transmission assembly 125 is pushed by the front end 126 of the fuel replenishing device 124, and then pushes the front end 132 of the outer layer opening and closing mechanism 130, and then the front end 132 pushes the outer layer opening and closing mechanism 130, so as to turn the outer layer opening and closing mechanism 130 to the on state. Fig. 3A to 3B are schematic diagrams illustrating the operation of the fuel reaction control device of the fuel cell system according to the present invention, and the outer layer opening and closing mechanism 130 shown in fig. 3A is shown in an off state, and if it is operated through the transmission assembly 125, the outer layer opening and closing mechanism 130 is turned into an on state as shown in fig. 3B. Fig. 4A to 4B are schematic viewsshowing the operation of the outer layer switch mechanism in the off/on state. In step S240, since the outer layer switch mechanism 130 is already in the on state, the cathode of the dmfc system 120 is in contact with the air, and the dmfc system 120 starts the electrochemical reaction.

In step S250, the fuel replenishing device 124 is pulled out of the adapter ring 123 at the upper end of the fuel tank/flow path member 121, and the front end 126 of the fuel replenishing device 124 moves upward and loses contact with the transmission assembly 125, i.e., the state of fig. 3B is changed to the state of fig. 3A. In step S260, after the transmission assembly 125 loses contact with the front end 126 of the fuel replenishing device 124, the front end 132 of the outer opening and closing mechanism 130 is returned to the original position, and the outer opening and closing mechanism 130 is turned off, i.e., the state of fig. 4B is changed to the state of fig. 4A. In step S270, since the outer layer switching mechanism 130 is already in the off state, the cathode of the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 is no longer in contact with the air, and the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 stops performing the electrochemical reaction.

As can be seen from the above description, with the transmission assembly 125 and the related mechanisms, the present invention can make the outer layer switch mechanism 130 in the on state when the fuel supply device 124 is inserted into the fuel tank/flow channel member 121, so as to start the electrochemical reaction of the dmfc system 120. When the fuel supply device 124 is pulled out of the fuel tank/flow channel member 121, the outer layer switch mechanism 130 is turned off, so that the direct methanol fuel cell system 120 stops performing the electrochemical reaction.

The above-described preferred embodiments are merely exemplary for convenience in explanation, and the scope of the invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but only by the claims.

Claims

1. A fuel reaction control apparatus of a fuel cell system, comprising:

a fuel cell system sandwiched between an isolation layer and an outer layer switch mechanism, comprising a transfer ring and a fuel supply device; and

the outer layer switch mechanism is used for controlling whether external air can circulate to the fuel cell system;

the fuel replenishing device is provided with a front end, and when the fuel replenishing device is inserted into the adapter ring, the front end pushes the transmission assembly to enable the outer layer switch mechanism to be in an opening state; when the fuel replenishing device is pulled out of the adapter ring, the front end is separated from the transmission assembly, so that the outer layer switch mechanism is in a closed state.

2. The fuel reaction control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the isolation layer is used for isolating heat generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction to prevent the generated heat from being transferred to the outside of the fuel reaction control device, and for isolating water vapor generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction to prevent the water vapor from escaping from the fuel reaction control device.

3. The fuel reaction control device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a fuel tank/flow channel member, and the adapter ring is disposed at an upper end of the fuel tank/flow channel member.

4. Thefuel reaction control device of claim 1, wherein the fuel supply device is made of one of plastic, polymer material and other material that does not react with the methanol fuel.

5. The fuel reaction control device of claim 1, wherein the outer layer opening and closing mechanism is a louver mechanism, wherein the louver mechanism is used to control whether the external air can flow to the fuel cell system, so that the fuel cell system is powered by the external air, and the louver mechanism is opened to fully supplement the external air, and so that the fuel cell system is not powered by the external air, and the louver mechanism is closed to isolate the fuel cell system from the external air, so that the fuel cell system is disabled.

6. The fuel reaction control device according to claim 1, wherein the fuel cell system is a direct methanol fuel cell system.

7. A fuel reaction control method of a fuel cell system, comprising the steps of:

providing a fuel cell system sandwiched between an isolation layer and an outer layer switch mechanism, wherein the fuel cell system comprises an adapter ring and a fuel supplement device, the adapter ring is internally provided with a transmission assembly, and the fuel supplement device is provided with a front end;

providing an outer layer switching mechanism, wherein the outer layer switching mechanism is used for controlling whether external air can be circulated to the fuel cell system; and

when the fuel replenishing device is inserted into the adapter ring, the front end pushes the transmission assembly to enable the outer layer switch mechanism to be in an open state, and when the fuel replenishing device is pulled out of the adapter ring, the front end is separated from the transmission assembly to enable the outer layer switch mechanism to be in a closed state.

8. The fuel reaction control method according to claim 7, further comprising the steps of:

providing the isolating layer, wherein the isolating layer is used for isolating heat generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction and isolating water vapor generated by the fuel cell system in the electrochemical reaction.

9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the fuel cell system further comprises a fuel tank/channel member, and the adapter ring is disposed at an upper end of the fuel tank/channel member.

10. The fuel reaction control method of claim 7, wherein the fuel supply device is made of one of plastic, polymer, and other materials that do not react with the methanol fuel.

11. The fuel reaction control method of claim 7, wherein the outer layer opening and closing mechanism is a louver mechanism, wherein the louver mechanism is used to control whether the external air can flow to the fuel cell system, so that the fuel cell system is fully supplemented by the external air when the fuel cell system is powered, and so that the louver mechanism is closed to isolate the fuel cell system from the external air when the fuel cell system is not powered, thereby disabling the fuel cell system.